Comments for Brain-Work: The C-EBLIP Bloghttps://words.usask.ca/ceblipblog
The Centre for Evidence Based Library and Information Practice (C-EBLIP) blog with topics related to research, evidence based library and information practice, and librarianshipTue, 15 Aug 2017 17:41:50 +0000hourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.7.5Comment on Designing and Presenting Research Posters by Shannon Luckyhttps://words.usask.ca/ceblipblog/2017/08/15/designing-and-presenting-research-posters/#comment-104
Tue, 15 Aug 2017 17:41:50 +0000http://words.usask.ca/ceblipblog/?p=1115#comment-104Hi Elizabeth! I will added it to the IR and update with a link. Bernice is presenting this Thursday and then we will post it up. Thanks for your interest.
]]>Comment on Designing and Presenting Research Posters by Elizabeth Streggerhttps://words.usask.ca/ceblipblog/2017/08/15/designing-and-presenting-research-posters/#comment-103
Tue, 15 Aug 2017 17:34:11 +0000http://words.usask.ca/ceblipblog/?p=1115#comment-103Will the research poster be added your IR when it is ready?

Thank you for another practical blog post, Shannon. I’ll refer to it next time I am designing and presenting a poster.

]]>Comment on Research that is (un-)related to librarianship by Ashley Thomsonhttps://words.usask.ca/ceblipblog/2017/08/08/research-that-is-un-related-to-librarianship/#comment-102
Sun, 13 Aug 2017 12:11:19 +0000http://words.usask.ca/ceblipblog/?p=1111#comment-102Your response to the academic freedom point. Surely all academics should be free to decide on their own research projects and not have restrictions imposed on them along the lines you are discussing?
]]>Comment on Research that is (un-)related to librarianship by Kristin Hoffmannhttps://words.usask.ca/ceblipblog/2017/08/08/research-that-is-un-related-to-librarianship/#comment-101
Sat, 12 Aug 2017 23:29:50 +0000http://words.usask.ca/ceblipblog/?p=1111#comment-101Maureen, thanks for these comments. You’ve identified many of the issues and questions that have come up in my conversations about this. There really is a lot to unpack!
]]>Comment on Research that is (un-)related to librarianship by Kristin Hoffmannhttps://words.usask.ca/ceblipblog/2017/08/08/research-that-is-un-related-to-librarianship/#comment-100
Fri, 11 Aug 2017 21:14:46 +0000http://words.usask.ca/ceblipblog/?p=1111#comment-100Yes, your example would count, from my perspective – thanks for sharing it.
]]>Comment on Research that is (un-)related to librarianship by Maureenhttps://words.usask.ca/ceblipblog/2017/08/08/research-that-is-un-related-to-librarianship/#comment-99
Fri, 11 Aug 2017 17:16:30 +0000http://words.usask.ca/ceblipblog/?p=1111#comment-99There are a couple of things to unpack here. One thing to consider is that, at its core, librarians either have academic freedom or they don’t. There may be an expectation that the bulk of research is carried out in the library field, but as soon as it becomes mandatory, it becomes a violation of the academic freedom of librarians. I think, realistically, that the majority of research done by librarians will end up being library-related research regardless of policy. But I do not think it should be policy that librarians only conduct research directly related to librarianship.

Another thing to consider is that librarians take a very different trajectory to their career than most academics – because there is no undergraduate librarianship, we have a diverse background that isn’t necessarily found in other fields. A faculty member in, say, biology, has typically studied biology from their undergrad through to their PhD. A sociologist has typically studied sociology. And so on. But my undergraduate degree was in anthropology and classics. My colleague next door studied psychology. Other librarians I know studied physics, art, geology, philosophy, music, math. I think it is a hard ask to expect librarians to abandon their other interests and education once they enter the discipline of librarianship, as though that education was merely a stepping stone to their MLIS, with no inherent value of its own, and no place in the career as a librarian. (What of librarians with advanced degrees in other subjects? Are such degrees only to be of value to librarians on their tenure application? And what of murky areas; would research on the history of the book be librarianship or history? If I co-publish with a team of nurses in a nursing journal wherein my contribution has been primarily related to search strategy development and methodology, is that nursing or librarianship?)

Finally, I think there is value to be found merely in librarians conducting research, regardless of what field it occurs in. My MLIS thesis explored librarians as researchers, and throughout the study, many librarians and other faculty members noted that librarians being able to speak the ‘language of research,’ as it were, was extremely important to librarianship – that the nature of research did not matter so much. It was the act of engaging in research itself that made them feel they were better librarians. Additionally, there was benefit in that librarians engaging in research in non-LIS subject areas were more able to communicate along interdisciplinary lines, something which most librarians felt was extremely important. I think that this value of non-LIS research for librarians shouldn’t be ignored, especially given that universities in general have been pushing more and more to become more interdisciplinary in recent years.

]]>Comment on Research that is (un-)related to librarianship by Ashley Thomsonhttps://words.usask.ca/ceblipblog/2017/08/08/research-that-is-un-related-to-librarianship/#comment-98
Fri, 11 Aug 2017 15:52:33 +0000http://words.usask.ca/ceblipblog/?p=1111#comment-98So since 1994, I have prepared an annual bibliography on Margaret Atwood, always with an English professor as co-author which is published by the Margaret Atwood Society, a branch of the MLA. Since the bibliography is mostly used by English scholars not librarians would that count from your perspective?

P.S. I have a MA in history and have edited books in that subject as well. My own university has promoted me to be a full librarian, based largely on this work. Surely academic freedom should trump any insistence that librarian’s research must be library-focused!!

]]>Comment on Research that is (un-)related to librarianship by Nicole Evahttps://words.usask.ca/ceblipblog/2017/08/08/research-that-is-un-related-to-librarianship/#comment-97
Tue, 08 Aug 2017 17:52:46 +0000http://words.usask.ca/ceblipblog/?p=1111#comment-97I grapple with this question as well, so was very interested in your study – interesting, and my mind has been turned somewhat as well.
]]>Comment on New Vistas for Vicki Williamson by Rachel Sarjeant-Jenkinshttps://words.usask.ca/ceblipblog/2017/06/20/new-vistas-for-vicki-williamson/#comment-95
Thu, 06 Jul 2017 15:57:11 +0000http://words.usask.ca/ceblipblog/?p=1063#comment-95Vicki – Thank you for your support and guidance as I navigated the post-secondary library world, began developing a research program, and worked towards achieving tenure. Your advice was always timely and oh so helpful! Enjoy the sunshine and the joy of being in charge of planning your days. All the very best in your retirement!
Rachel
]]>Comment on Reframing Instruction: Get Messy by Carol Perrymanhttps://words.usask.ca/ceblipblog/2017/07/04/reframing-instruction/#comment-94
Tue, 04 Jul 2017 16:47:39 +0000http://words.usask.ca/ceblipblog/?p=1078#comment-94This is really excellent! Now you have me thinking how I can infuse the IR courses I teach (full semester) for LS and CS students with a dose of the reality of search, as opposed to spending all that time building perfect, achievable search worksheet assignments – in an online class. I love the shared reflection and growth you depict here and think it’s got to be part of the process. Thank you so much for this very thoughtful post!
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